Brussels decides pint can remain

THE pint has been saved.

Brussels decided yesterday it will not insist that Ireland scrap the measure for beer and milk.

Britain has been told it too can continue to serve draught beer and cider by the pint and deliver milk in pint-sized, returnable bottles.

The mile, feet, inches and troy ounce measurement for weighing gold have also been salvaged as the European Commission dropped demands for a complete change to metric by 2009.

But the decision comes too late for Ireland’s old speed limit signs as 77,000 in kilometres were put up around the country two years ago at a cost of €9 million.

The British expect to save between €80m and €800m by keeping their speed limit signs in miles, according to reports given to the European Commission.

Saving Britain’s imperial measurements and weights has been a major issue over the past few years as members of the Metric Martyrs served time in jail rather than display fruit and veg in kilos rather than pounds and ounces.

When the European Commission held a public inquiry about the pending change earlier this year, it got hundreds of submissions from Britain, but not one from Ireland.

Local authorities and teachers were very much in favour of having a complete change from imperial to metric, pointing out that all children are taught metric in British schools.

But the voice of business prevailed as representatives warned that having labels in metric only would mean having to print a whole new set of labels for exports to the US — the only other country in the world still using imperial.

Under the decision announced yesterday, they could continue to give weights in both for the foreseeable future.

A spokesman for the commission denied this had anything to do with trying to sweeten up the British in advance of any vote on the new EU Treaty.

“This was envisaged long ago as the agreement on weights and measures was reached in 1999 and was due to run out in 2009,” he said.

The commission’s Gunter Verheugen said the proposal “honours the culture and traditions of Great Britain and Ireland”.